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Kremlin transfers control of German
retailer Metro's Russia business
[September 29, 2026]
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — President Vladimir Putin has ordered
the Russian assets of German retailer Metro AG placed under temporary
administration. The step comes against a background of tension between
Germany and Russia over the war in Ukraine.
The order, posted Monday on the government website, did not state a
reason. The step follows similar steps against the Russia businesses of
global food company Nestle and French retailer Auchan under a 2023
decree aimed at businesses associated with “unfriendly countries.” |
The logo of Metro Cash&Carry is photographed in Duesseldorf, Germany,
Wednesday March 30, 2016. (Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa via AP, file) |
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Temporary administration has led to local owners taking over the
Russia businesses of French dairy concern Danone and Danish
brewer Carlsberg at knockdown prices.
Metro said in a statement that although Metro Russia formally
belonged to it, it had no further operational control over the
business. The Kremlin order placed the assets under the
administration of UK Torg Rus, described in the Metro news
release as “a company of Metro Russia CEO Johannes Tholey.”
Metro said it had been reducing its connections to the Russia
business since the 2022 Russian invasion. It said that “further
consequences of the decree on Metro AG are currently being
analyzed.” Metro has 9,000 employees in Russia.
Germany has concluded that Russia was responsible for an
attempted drone attack at the Leipzig airport and closed a
Russian consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural center in
Berlin. Russia in response closed the German consulate in St.
Petersburg. Moscow denied the allegations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met his German
counterpart Johann Wadephul on Saturday on the sidelines of the
U.N. General Assembly but was dismissive afterward, saying that
Wadephul "simply reiterated his official public position
condemning Russia... you can judge for yourself whether that
counts as dialogue or not.”
“The Russians are raising the pressure on Germany in their
hybrid war,” said Stefan Meister, a Russia expert at the German
Council on Foreign Relations. “It's being made clear that the
Germans could lose even more companies and assets in Russia, in
order to raise pressure on the German government from the German
business community."
Meister said that Russia sees Germany “as a key adversary since
it is Ukraine's most important single supporter.”
Some major Western businesses ceased operating in Russia and
wrote off their businesses after 2022. Since then the Kremlin
has imposed burdensome conditions for disposing of local
affiliates, demanding they be sold at a steep discount and
subject to exit taxes and government approval. Other companies
have scaled back their operations, while others continue to do
business as usual.
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